


A Little Secret Between The Two Of Them

by wigglyink



Series: When The Night Is Long [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Artist Pepper Potts, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, I love FRIDAY, I'm back on my Pepperony bullshit, Nebula & Tony Stark Friendship, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Parent Tony Stark, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Tony Stark Gets a Therapist, Tony Stark Has A Heart, nebula deserves better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 08:49:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18735670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wigglyink/pseuds/wigglyink
Summary: Just some domestic fluff that came to life after I thought about my artist!Pepper headcanon for more than 5 minutes





	A Little Secret Between The Two Of Them

**Author's Note:**

> I thought this will be longer but oh well. I might make it into a series. Anyways, enjoy!

It was one of the things he has learned about Pepper only after they started living together. She just never told him before, not wanting to overstep professional boundaries she set early on. She decided to not get personal with her boss, not tell him too much about herself, and certainly NOT date him. 

Now, that didn’t matter anymore. 

Now, his he was her partner. And they were living together.

Since she moved in, they had much more quiet moments. They loved when they could just be together, enjoying each other’s company. She was often in his workshop when he was tinkering with his suits and cars or designing things for Stark Industries. The first time she walked in and didn’t try to pull him out to attend meetings, he was a little surprised. They both had a day off, there was no reason for him to come out, but he tended to lost track of time. He was even more surprised, when she curled up on the couch and pulled out a thin, black sketchbook. Pepper didn’t say anything, she just casually started doodling to the sound of music blasting from the speakers and Tony’s casual banter with JARVIS. She fit in perfectly, like she was there since the beginning. Well, she was, but not in such intimate way. Potts always relished in chaos, whether it was a very unstable business world or Tony’s life before and after he became Iron Man. 

Tony looked over at the tables in the room and winced. There was close to no free space, the controlled chaos overtook every square inch of of every surface in the room. Just because Pepper thrived in chaos didn’t mean she didn’t deserve her own space.

When she head out to go to bed, Tony cleared out one of the tables in his workshop. He even wiped it clean for good measure. When he was finished, he wrote a note and left it on the table.

“That couch is nasty and you know it”

* * *

“Hey, should I start meditating?” he asks her one day. He’s laying on a couch in her studio and listens to her clean her paintbrush in a cup of water. They finished moving into their new house by the lake a few days ago. After they got the news that Pepper is pregnant, they decided to finish it as fast as possible. Oh, and they got married along the way. It was a crazy few months.  
“If that would make you shut up, then I don’t see why not.” she says to him, not turning around.  
“But you love to hear me talk!” he whines. “We wouldn’t be married if you didn’t.” 

“Debatable.” she says in a light tone. Pepper turns her head around towards him, and Tony can see a soft smile on her face. His heart starts to swell, he mirrors her expression. 

Tony closes his eyes. He relishes in a quiet moment. There’s sun shining upon his face and it’s still warm. The autumn weather is treating them good. Water in the lake should still be warm, a stray thought crosses his mind. 

After the so-called “civil war” - a stupid name in his opinion - he got a therapist. After FRIDAY told him he should do it. She might have used blackmail. In her defense, she was worried about him. They looked through a long list of good candidates when he was still in the hospital. He tried many of them, but finally he found his current one. She’s a kind, tall hispanic woman that doesn’t take any of his bullshit. His therapist has helped him get over some of his triggers - not all, but at least some of them. They still have a long way ahead, but Tony is willing to try.

He is willing to try for Pepper and the kid.

They still haven’t decided on a name though. He was thinking about Morgan - nice and unisex, decently nickname-able. He and Pepper still have to talk about it. But for now, he pushes thoughts about the future away. He focuses on a subtle smell of watercolor paint that Pepper is using. He was surprised to learn that it is her favourite medium, but it made sense now. In those moments where they can just relax, Pepper uses painting to calm down and loosen up. And what’s better for loosening up than something that forces you to let go of control?

He loves listening to Pepper talk about her hobby. It’s special, because not many people know about it. It’s one of many little secrets about Pepper that he treasures. He knows her better than he knows himself . He knows the way she taps on a table with her right little finger during boring board meetings in a room full of white, middle-aged men who don't give her half of the respect she deserves. He can tell the difference between her fake and genuine smiles. He can tell when she's lying about being fine after a long day. 

He knows how to make her coffee just like she likes it. He knows her favourite wine. He knows a lot. He also knows, that Pepper knows even more about him  
She has seen him at his absolute worst and absolute best. She knows the pure chaos his life had become a decade ago and she stayed. Just like Rhodey.  
He feels his phone vibrating in his front pocket. He pulls it out and picks up the call.  
“Hello Tony.” he hears Nebula on the other side. Her voice is small, not like a low growl she gave to Rogers the first time he saw her. Good times.

“What’s up Smurfette? You in the neighborhood?” he asks her casually, not really expecting her to be in the same solar system. He knows she could be calling from a solid few galaxies away, he has modified his phone to be compatible with alien tech after spending three weeks on a ship with her. They quickly bonded over shared daddy issues and wanted to keep in touch.

“Do you have somewhere where I can spend a few days?” she says with a hint of uncertainty. 

“Sure, I’m sending you coordinates. How far away are you?” Tony stands up. 

“I just entered your solar system.” she says quickly. He makes quick calculations based on what he knows about Nebula’s ship. That gives him about fifteen minutes. 

“Okay, just let me give a heads up to the Avengers so they don’t freak out. Oh, and careful with the landing.” he says, already worried about his and Pepper’s lawn.

“I will be” she answers relieved and ends the call. 

He comes up to Pepper. She looks at him with one brow lifted.

“Nebula needs somewhere to crush. Not literally, I hope.” he chuckles nervously.

“What has it come to. Aliens in our backyard!” Pepper sighs dramatically.  
Tony giggles. He texts Nebula the coordinates to his home. He then stares at Nat’s phone number for far longer than necessary. He makes the move.

“Hey, I’m just giving you heads up. There’s an alien ship entering the atmosphere…”

“What?!” Nat interrupts him.

“It’s Nebula, so don’t start shooting for the love of god.” he says with a certain heaviness and ends the call. They always shoot first and ask questions later.

Nebula has been on Earth for a few times, but never long enough to stay for the night. She still managed to make it to his wedding though. Her meeting Pepper was the highlight of the last months for him. They quickly got along like a house on fire.  
Pepper set aside her paintbrush and walked to the door.  
“I’ll go and make her bed, you go and greet her.” she gives him a kiss on a cheek.

“Of course, Miss Potts.” he agrees as she rolls her eyes. He just shoots her a smirk as he heads downstairs. Tony turns on the kettle and reaches to a kitchen cabinet where they tea for guests - Nebula’s not a fan of coffee. Tony was there when she tried it for the first time and that’s a memory he will cherish forever. 

He puts a tea bag in a mug as he hears Nebula’s ship approaching. Tony goes outside and looks at the sky. He stares in awe at the smooth landing. Wind that was blowing in his face a second ago disappears, leaving a floating cloud of dust that slowly sets on. It hasn’t rained in a while.

Nebula comes out of the ship with her head hanging low. Tony comes up to her concerned.  
“Hey Neb, you okay?” he asks her with a hint of worry in his voice. She glances at him with an unreadable expression. 

“How long can I stay here?” Nebula looks away. Tony reaches out to put a hand on her arm. He does it slowly, so she can see it and tell him to stop before he touches her. She doesn’t tell him to stop.

“You can stay here as long as you would like. Pepper already loves you.” he reassures her with a soft smile. 

She returns it and steps through the front door.


End file.
